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Nov 27, 2009

The Cat's meow

We don't own cats. They own us. I am sure you have heard this expression before. But as a former cat slave, let me tell you. It's true. If you have ever lived with a cat, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you haven't, let me try to explain.

Cats live in their own little world. The only time you will ever really see a cat is if he want something from you. If you want something from him, good luck. Get a dog instead. I have trained my dog, Emily, to come to me when I whistle. This has never worked with any cat I have lived with. If you whistle at a cat it will stare at you. If the cat is somewhere out in the neighborhood, she'll think to herself, “Hmm... my slave is whistling. I suppose that means something, but frankly I don't care”.

This is probably why we never had many cats growing up. The only cat we ever had was Leo. Leo was a white Siamese that we saved from the pound. He was the only cat my father allowed in the house. But Leo's swagger was his undoing. One day my mother was backing up out of the driveway and Leo decided that her slave better find a better path because he wasn't moving. We blamed mom for a long, long, time, but after Mr. Misty, I came to understand the feline species.

It was John who found Mr. Misty. He was a two-week old kitten abandoned by his mother. Jennifer called and asked if we could keep him. Now, I wasn't about to change my lifestyle for some stupid cat but then again, cats attach themselves to slaves in very devious ways. Trust me; there is not a power in heaven or earth that is able to say no to four children when a two-week old kitten is on the line. I came to love this cat. Mr. Misty's greatest contribution was that he took care of the mice problem in the basement.

I was reminded of cat behavior through a story that came out of Croatia this week. During the middle of a soccer playoff game a cat sauntered onto the field. The goalie, not wanting the cat to interfere with the game or to get hurt, moved the cat off the pitch. Now for the cat, this was no big deal. He probably wandered off looking for mice. The goalie, however, received a yellow card from the referee for leaving the field. Cats-1, Humans-0.

I wonder if that's how we are with God. We know our sin causes all sorts of problems in our own lives and the lives of others. And like cats, we are completely oblivious to the dangers we face or the destruction we leave behind. In fact, most times we believe we're in charge. Yet God patiently takes care of us, moves us out of harm's way, and forgives us all the same.